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Sunday 24 February 2013

Distressed Paint Without Sanding

I'm all for cutting out as many steps as possible when I'm painting furniture.  You can call me lazy but I prefer to think of myself as economical with my time.  Since I'm not fond of sanding, I've developed a way of getting the look without the effort.


At auction, I bought a pair of cabinets for $30.  I suspect they were some kind of antique store cabinetry but they've been altered more that once and are a mishmash of woods, finishes and hardware.

The back has a high gloss paint. ~


To disguise replaced sections of the original pine, someone has given it an Old Master's treatment.  It's a paint kit, popular in the 60's, that is the bane of furniture re finisher's lives.  The system had a white base coat that welds itself to the wood, a couple of layers of 'graining' paint and a shiny sealer.

The end result is this. ~


If I want to paint this baby without sanding off the shiny finish (and I do!) I'll have to go to chalk paint, which adheres to almost anything.  I make my own version by mixing 2 parts latex paint to one part Plaster of Paris,  mix thoroughly and thin to a good painting consistency with warm water.

To prove that there is no end to my laziness ingenuity, I paint some areas of the cabinet with a rusty red coloured craft paint.  Normally, you would paint over the red with the main colour and sand back to let bits of red show through.

As I paint the first coat of matt black paint, I only let the brush touch the red painted areas very lightly. ~


Use your artistic eye for this method.  Don't tell me you don't have one!  Every five year old is an artist and every one of you has your five year old self inside.  Let the child out and see through their eyes!

Wherever I felt wear would naturally occur, I used a light touch with the black paint.  This is after two coats of black paint. ~


I had a tube of gold artist gouache that I applied to a raised band at the top of the piece.  Before it dried, I rubbed it lightly with a paper towel to make it a little less new looking. ~


I painted right over the hammered brass hinges with the chalk paint.  The drawer pull was already distressed so it didn't need anything done to it.  A modern knob on the door was replaced with one I bought at Mary Maxim for $2. ~


Chalk paint does need something applied on top to protect it.  I'll let the paint settle for a couple of days and then give it a good coat of Treewax.  That will give it a bit of sheen.  You could use a matt finish Varathane if you prefer.

There you go.  No priming, no sanding and I didn't even take the serving pieces out of the cabinet! ~


Ta Da! ~


I have the matching cabinet to do and an idea on how to give the glass doors a bit of pizazz.

Give it a try.  It's easy.  Your five year old self will love you!

I'm partying this week with:  Monday Funday Link PartyCreative Bloggers Party & HopClever Chicks Blog HopKnick Of Time TuesdayTransformed TuesdayBudget Decorating PartyTweak It Tuesday, Make It Pretty Monday, What's It Wednesday, Thursday Favorite Things Blog  Hop, Transformation ThursdayWildly Original PartyA Crafty SoireeShare You Cup ThursdayLink It Up ThursdayCreative Things ThursdayOpen House PartyFeathered Nest FridayA Favorite ThingOld Time PartyThe Creative HomeAcre HopMarch Before And AfterPower Of Paint Party

47 comments:

  1. Wow, first off I love this piece AND the paint job. But Maureen yuse not lazy your just creative and crafty!! This really is a great piece though and you have two?? Nice.

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  2. Love it Maureen! I'm all for short cuts, especially so no sanding is required. Love the black and red together! Just fabulous!!

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  3. Another great project and I sure like the fact that your homemade chalk paint seems to be less toxic than the Annie Sloan. I am not sure I like all the warnings on the back of the can. Would low voc latex work the same and does the plaster of paris have anything in it I should be concerned with? Cathy

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  4. Economical with your time, best statement ever, it's my new motto! I have a couple of questions, why does chalk paint stick to almost anything and does that include laminate. I love the recipe Annie Sloan has just arrived on the other side of town and frightfully expensive

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  5. I like your style. I don't care for sanding because of the mess and the stuff I can inhale. This saves so much time. Thanks for sharing!
    Farmhouse hugs,
    Cindy

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  6. Oh that is brilliant! I'm saving this tip for when I do my first furniture piece...which I'm building my nerve up for!! I love the no sanding!! I'm shamefully envious of that little $2 knob and the price of the cabinets at auction! This turned out beautifully!

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  7. Maureen! Your cabinets are so rich looking! I love that this was such an easy paint treatment, yet appears to look like a difficult undertaking. You rock girlfriend!! xo wendy

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  8. Love it Maureen ... wish I had all this good information before I painted the old china cabinet (blog coming soon)... you are so creative. You also make your tutorial fun to read.
    Blessings,
    Audrey Z.@ Timeless Treasures

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  9. My five year old and fifty year old self loves it. BTW if you ever receive an odd emailed photo from me it is because when mailing images to myself from my phone you are the next contact after my name. I kept trying to send you photos this morning. Boy, I am tired. xo, olive

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  10. well done -- a beautiful renovation.

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  11. Maureen, you make the painting seem so simple. I have never done it before. I just need to step in and do it. I have many pieces to do for my new craft room. I am researching using/making chalk paint or doing it the old fashioned way...

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  12. Maureen- I love this piece. Wonderful job on finsishing/distressing. I remember that Old Masters well....Lordy, do I! I used it on a few projects myself. You have ANOTHER piee like that-I am so jealous! xo Diana

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  13. Ha! I love that you did this without getting all crazy about finishes and made it as easy as possible using what you had! It looks fabulous!!!

    Cindy

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  14. This looks fantastic...your 5 yr. old self is very smart and talented. :))

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  15. Wow! Looks great! You did a wonderful job of showing us how to be economical with our time. :) Love it...

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  16. I cannot believe you painted the cabinet without removing the contents, did not prepare the surface, did not sand to distress, and finished in no time! What a woman after my own heart. I will confess to using Chapstick on a piece and then wiping the paint off that section. But to just not paint - it is brilliant!

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  17. What a gorgeous piece. Thank you for this time saving tip. I will put it to the test! Blessings to you, Patti@OldThingsNew

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  18. That is a great piece and even better that you have a pair. Thanks for stopping by and for your kind comment on my dining room post. Maybe it will be a snow day tomorrow lol.

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  19. So love this piece in black. You did a marvelous job, with shortcuts and all. Thanks for sharing at the Cabin!

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  20. OK, first of all that is a fabulous piece with the glass door, I have not ever seen anything like it and your "Distressing" is perfect. I love that "Perfect" finishes are not in vogue!!!

    Carol

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  21. I missed this post. What a gorgeous cupboard. Love!

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  22. What a nice piece, I love the the bit of gold detail, what a nice idea.

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  23. what an awesome cabinet, maureen! your distressing looks great!

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  24. I recently bought a paper mache piece that I've wanted to paint to look more like distressed metal. I knew that sanding would be awfully risky on the flimsy material- I think this technique might work rather well instead! Thanks for helping me see it differently! :)

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  25. That's neat and it turned out very pretty.
    I'm visiting today from Thursday's Favorite Things. :)

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  26. Thanks for sharing. I would love to skip the sanding.

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  27. What a great tip! I love the idea of a light hand, never thought about it before, Thanks!
    I just started a new link party and would love for you to come over and share your post or any social media sites. Talkin’ About Thursday http://designeddecor.com/talkin-thursday-link-party-9/
    DeDe@DesignedDecor

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  28. These are good tips. My husband just wants to sand, sand, sand! I'm going to show him this post. :) beautiful job!

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  29. Oh, I LOVE the cabinet! It looks great!

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  30. What a wonderful technique! I love this!

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  31. Thank you kindly for boot scootin’ on over to the Old Time Party!
    Farmhouse hugs,
    Cindy

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  32. Oh, I love this piece and the simple way you refinished it. I think it looks beautiful and I love the new knob. I'm visiting from Old Time Farmhouse's party today. Blessings,
    Pamela

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  33. I love it! Found you on A Favorite Thing and I would love to have you share this on The Creative HomeAcre Hop today!
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/03/the-creative-homeacre-hop-5.html

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  34. Now that's my kind of painting. Like you, I prefer to be judicious with my time! I remember those Old Master's painting kits! I'm sure I used them at one time or the other.

    Thanks so much for joining in this week!

    xo
    Claudia

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  35. Just my style too. Good tips which I am going to add to my data bank (brain). Great finish, looks like it has been like that forever.
    Joy

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  36. Maureen your cabinet turned out so pretty. Wonderful job and I'm all for doing things the easy way. Thanks for sharing at Transformed Tuesday.
    Hugs,
    Peggy

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  37. What a great tutorial! Please share it on a terrific linky – Design Décor Tuesday. www.designdecortuesday.blogspot.com. See you there! ☺

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  38. Great job Maureen. I love the red pops here and there. Great tutorial on a fun technique. Thanks for sharing it with SYC. The 5 year old in all of us loves this!
    hugs,
    Jann

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  39. SMART idea! Love tips like these... thanks for sharing Maureen.

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  40. Congrats on the feature at Old Time Party!
    And, thanks for the tutorial! I'm printing it out right now for future reference!
    Hugs and Blessings from The Country Farm Home,
    Dru

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  41. Great idea... I'm going to have to try that next time! I'm featuring your great tip in the PoPP Spotlight this week. Thanks for linking up.

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  42. That cabinet looks SO much better! Great transformation!

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  43. I love this cabinet, the paint finish and colour make it look really grand, and it fits so well with your classic wallpapers Mauren.

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  44. Sorry, Maureen, I didn't check my spelling !

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